Process ojp makijtg compottnbs of



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Specification of Letters reheat.

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To all w'hom-t't-ma'y' 'ooncem:

B it known'tha't I, ROBERT MeKNmm, a 'ciii'zen of 'the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented acertai'n new and useful Process of MakingCompounds of Rare Metals, of which the followin is a specification.

e invention relates 'to the process of makingeompounds including therare metals such 'as'tungs'ten, uranium, vanadium, molybdenum, andtellurium. It is well known that the addition ofvarious amounts of therare metals improve iron, steel, and other of the more common metalswhen the proper proportions, but these rare metals are now commonlyproduced in a metallic.

condition and require very high melting points before the desiredcombination can be accomplished. It is the primary objects of thepresent invention to provide a process whereby the incorporation of therare metals with the other more common metals is accomplished at a muchlower temperature than has heretofore been possible; the provision of aprocess in which the desired combination between the rare metal and 'thecommon metal occurs at the ordinary melting point of the common metal;and the provision of a process wherein the melting point of the compoundto which the rare metal has been added is reduced below that of thecommon metal prior to the addition of the rare metal, such as is not thecase with the ordinary metallic compounds of the rare and common metalsas now produced.

In carrying out the process I employ the acid or alkaline salts of therare metals, which salts may be obtained in any manner known in the art,a desirable method being set forth in my Patent Number 862,987 of August13, 1907. A specific instance of one manner of practising my inventionis as follows: Taking a salt containing tungstic acid (W0 as the raremetal salt, I mix such salt with one of the haloid salts, such as sodiumchlorid, and feed the mixture into a furnace of any desired type, itbeing anderstood however, that if desired, the two compounds may be fedinto the furnace separately. and there mixed. The amount or proportionof sodium chlorid may be varied, the desired result being more quicklybtained with the larger portion of the sodium chlorid. I find inpractice however, that the-advantage derived from a large excess ofsod-111m chlorid, such as would be expected from the law of action, isafter a certam point counterbalanced by the disadvantage of having f tohandle too large a bulk of material, and therefore the amount or sodiumchlorid to be;iise d is best'determined by the amount of rare metalinthe rare metal salt. I find that with a salt containin 90% oitungst1c..oxid, 20% 'of' sodium clilond giyes excellelitresults.Thejtemperature a-p' p'lled need not exceed 800C. which an be securedthrough any available ifuel. ere elec'trlcity 'is available a good"furnace in which to carry out ihQvPIOCQSS set iorth in'my PatentNumber1900.192 of October 6,

1908. As a result of this treatment the tungstic acid combines with thesodium chlorid and forms when cooled a hard semimetallic cake or ingot.

The compound as just described is supplied with the oommon metal to bemodified in quantities sufiicient to give the quality desired for anyspecific purpose such as for instance the making of high s eed toolswhere the common metal is steel, t e combination with the steeloccurring at a temperature approximately the melting point of the steel,and the heat for melting the steel being supplied in any of the knownways.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificapplication of the method as heretofore explained for the purpose ofillustration. The other haloid salts might be employed, although not sodesirable, and more expensive than sodium chlorid. Similarly theinvention is applicable to use with other of the common metals than ironor steel, and the proportions of the materials employed might be variedwithin considerable limits. The resultant compound of the rare metalsalt and the haloid salt is, as a matter of convenience, preferablyallowed to cool and harden after uniting, but if desired, it may be usedas a liquid, the result when the compound is used as a liquid being thesame as when used as a solld. I believe the composition, whether insolid or liquid form, to be a true chemical compound, rather than amechanical mixture, but as yet I have been unable to determine the exactcharacter of the reactions involved. The composition as a solid is dark,very dense, has a decided me- 'ratenteii Jul 8, 1919. 5

tallic appearance, and discloses no free sodium chlorid. In theapplication of the process to the modification of steel by the raremetal the 7 primary advantages of my method over the methods now in usemay be summed up as follows. First, the time required to secure theincorporation of the rare metal into the steel is reduced by reason ofthe fact that the steel need not be heated Within many hundred degreesof the temperature required under the present practice, the union of therare metal occurring at the melting temperature of the steel and Withina few minutes, thus involving a reat saving in time; second, the cost offueil is correspondingly reduced, and third, the loss of steel due toburningis entirely eliminated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is the following: a a 1. The process of makingcompounds of the rare metals, such as tungsten, vanadium, uranium,molybdenum and tellurium, which consists in melting'togcther a salt ofthe rare metal and a chlorid of one of the alkali metals without anysubstantial volatilizato cool and harden into a solid bod 3. A compoundformed by melting together a salt of the rare metals, such as tungsten,vanadium, uranium, molybdenum and tellurium,-and a chlorid of one of thealkali -metals at a temperature approximately 800 degreesC.

In testimony whereof Iv have hereunto.

signed my name in the presence of the two subscribed wltnesses.

Witnesses:

LE'IITIA A; MYERS, v Ancuwon'rn MARTIN.

ROBERT MGKNIGHTQ

